


Ain't No Sunshine

by Octibbles



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: F/F, OC, noodle needs a gf so i'm here to help, ocxcanon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 22:39:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13397763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Octibbles/pseuds/Octibbles
Summary: Mariko Yamazaki is Noodle's best friend, and after she goes missing Mariko begins a quest to find her. Teaming up with what's left of the band is a good idea, right?





	1. It's Not Warm When She's Away

**Author's Note:**

> Holy shit it's been a while since I've written anything, this is super rusty. ANYWAYS... I know OCxCanon fics are kinda out of style but I wanted to follow my heart and actually write one. I'm publishing this on here and wattpad so if you see it there that's why. Tell me what you think if you've got the time!

The heat that waved off of the burning Kong Studios felt hot enough to level a neighborhood, but even so a figure stood dangerously close to it. With a proud stature that Nero likely held while watching Rome burn, Murdoc Niccals assessed his work. The studios were filled with hard work and memories, but the rum he was drinking numbed any sensation of sadness. He had no more room for sadness. A smile crossed his lips as he thought about the insurance money he had started this fire for in the first place.

Over the roar of the flames, he hadn’t heard someone approach him, and so when a Japanese accented voice spoke from behind him, chills ran up his spine. Noodle…? But no, he realized a moment later that the tone was lower than hers had been. With a frown he turned to face the culprit, unsurprisingly seeing a total stranger.

The girl looked somewhat scared and confused, but that wasn’t his problem. This was his property. “Oi! Didn’t you read the gate? This is private property, kid. Get out of here now and we won’t have a problem, got it?”

A look of hesitation crossed her face, but she didn’t turn to leave. “Mr. Murdoc. I need your help.” 

He squinted at her. Why in Satan’s name did she think he’d help her? He wasn’t the type to be charitable, and he made that very publicly obvious. He took a final long drink of his rum before smashing the empty bottle on the ground. The close proximity that it had to the girl’s feet made her flinch, but she stood her ground.

He bared his teeth in a snarl. “Get out! I’m not going to ask again. I’m not a bloody help center.”

She blinked as if she may start crying, but after a shuddering breath, her expression hardened in one of determination. “Mr. Murdoc Niccals, I need your help locating Noodle and I will not leave until you give me the information I need.”

Now he was the one to look confused. Was this some obsessed fan? He knew many of their fans were upset by Noodle’s disappearance, but would one really go so far as to try to track her down? The mere mention of her name made him feel sick to his stomach. This girl had already taken things too far. He lunged forward to grab her arm; if she wasn’t going to leave he was going to drag her off the property. Perhaps his alcohol addled brain had misjudged the distance, but the situation flipped on him quickly. Instead of him grabbing her arm, she had managed to get him in a headlock with lightning fast speed. He grabbed at the arm she had around his neck, but she held tight with a strength that didn’t seem to fit her thin stature. Once again an uneasy feeling flooded his gut as he was reminded of Noodle.

“Gnck..Who... are you…” He could barely get the words out of his currently-being-crushed throat, but she seemed to hear him fine.

“Mariko Yamazaki. I will not let go until you agree to help me find my best friend.” 

Mariko… huh… that name had some ounce of familiarity to it, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Her “best friend”? Was she insane? Did she really think Noodle was her best- Oh… oh… that’s why the name was familiar. He vaguely remembered the hours-long phone calls Noodle would make nightly, explaining them as being a friend from Japan. She had openly gushed about this friend to all of them, but Murdoc never really listened. But there was something… something about her being from the same supersoldier program? At least that’s what he could remember, and judging by his current predicament, that was correct. But that didn’t change anything, he didn’t want to help her.

He let out a grumble, but Mariko was quick to tighten her grip to shut him up. The meager stature she had when she arrived was gone, replaced by a frightening ferocity. “You will help me find Noodle. I am not afraid to leave you for dead right here and now.” 

He clawed at her arm in desperation, but despite his ridiculously long nails, she didn’t budge. Fine. Fine. “...fine.” he choked out.

She let go and he dropped to the ground, wheezing for air. 

“Where is she?” Her voice was tinged by obvious urgency.

Murdoc let out a very dramatic cough and rubbed his neck. “Sit down. It’s a long story.”


	2. She's Always Gone Too Long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But who is Mariko and how does she know Noodle?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written nonstop in like an hour and a half so there may be some problems with spelling/grammar that I haven't fixed yet

Mariko’s childhood had been spent inside a laboratory as a part of a supersoldier program run by a man called Kyuzo. Mr. Kyuzo to the subjects. Every subject was a child, taken from parents who didn’t want them after they were born. They were stripped of any attachments to their past and their names were simply numbers. Mariko was known as 022. Although there were certain hours of education and enrichment in their daily schedule, most of their time was spent training in various forms of combat and strategy as well as undergoing cruel experimentation. They were being made into weapons.

As the children grew, each of them was given a special ability to study based off of what they seemed most interested in. 022’s was computer programming.  
But the children were not allowed to be children, and this led to a lot of unhappiness and unrest among them. Several times there were attempts to escape or take down any of the people in charge, but these attempts were always fruitless. 022 was never the type to start anything, so she just obeyed the rules given and went through the programming with a deep sadness that she didn’t know how to explain. 

The only moment of solace she had daily was the walk to her programming room. The hallway containing this room also contained the rooms for the practicing of the other children’s special abilities, one of which was music. At first she didn’t know who it was playing the music, but the different sounds and tunes coming from within never ceased to make her smile. After asking several times who was playing the music, she was told it was 016. None of the children were allowed to interact for extended periods of time, but she knew who 016 was, and after that the simple sight of her gave her a comforting feeling.

But soon horror struck after a child came dangerously close to escaping. The Japanese government came to take a look at the program they had not checked on for years, only to be faced with an incredibly inhumane and dangerous result. All of the children had developed individuality despite the attempts to condition them to be emotionless, and so they were all a liability. Mr. Kyuzo was set with the task to destroy all the evidence- and with that, the children.

They were all woken from their beds early the next morning, and lined up against a wall. The scientists who had been in charge of them were armed with guns, a sight that confused all of the children. 022 looked around hastily to see if 016 was there, but she seemed to be the only one missing… Before another thought could cross her mind, the scientists opened fire. It was sloppy and poorly aimed, and many children were hit in non-vital areas and required further shots to end them completely. 022 sustained a wound to her shoulder, but collapsed seemingly lifeless, and was never shot fatally. She was in immense pain, but the fear of death running through her mind told her not to move a muscle. When the firing stopped and the scientists left, she make a break for it and left the room. She made her way through a labyrinth of rooms until she hit a locked door. With nowhere else to run and a wound that was steadily bleeding out, she sat down and cried hopelessly. 

But unbeknownst to her, not all of the scientists in the program had been on board with the idea of killing their subjects. One of these scientists, a woman named Shinobu Yamazaki, had entered the facility late in order to avoid the killing, but found a crying child behind the door. She motioned for 022 to be quiet, and scooped her up in her arms, sneaking her out of the building and into her car. After a quick patching-up job and an hour’s drive, they arrived in Osaka, and she was taken to Shinobu’s home. 

Shinobu gave her a real name. Mariko. 

Now Mariko was away from the hellish supersoldier program, but her life did not get happier. In order to protect her, Shinobu and her husband Daichi kept her in the house at all times and made her follow strict rules in order to not get caught. It was assumed that the one missing body would raise questions and people would be looking for her, but Kyuzo had committed his own transgression in saving 016, so he did not report it. Shinobu did not know this, so she took as many precautions as she could with keeping Mariko under wraps. 

Mariko was to continue practicing and studying combat as a means to protect herself if she was found, but it was for marginally less time a day than it had been at the facility. The rest of her day was filled by being homeschooled by Daichi and practicing programming on the family computer. Shinobu would often bring home broken or discarded computer parts which Mariko would take and rebuild into new computers or use them to improve an older model.   
4 years later when Mariko was 11, they decided she had grown enough that it would be harder to recognize her, and she was allowed to leave the house as long as she was wearing sunglasses or something else to make her face less visible. Osaka was a beautiful place, but being outside made her incredibly nervous. Shinobu thought it was good for her to get out, though, so she was sent to get groceries regularly. 

It was summer when she saw 016 again.

They had bumped into each other, quite literally, but the recognition of 016’s face stopped Mariko from running away like she normally would have. Complete shock stole her voice from her, and she just ended up staring at her with a dumbfounded expression.

016 didn’t seem phased by that. “I’m sorry! It has been a little hard to find my way around here, so I was looking at my map instead of in front of me.” She paused for a moment, looking at the girl. Something familiar tugged at her brain, but the brick wall of memory loss didn’t budge. Still, it seemed like a good place to start if she was going to find out about her past. “I’m Noodle. Have we met?”

Mariko teared up a little bit, but managed to blink them away. Noodle. That seemed to fit her a lot better than lifeless numbers. The question of have we met produced a particular problem for her. Shinobu always told her not to reveal anything of her past, no matter what, but they did know each other, even if only slightly. After a moment that felt like forever, she managed to utter “I don’t know..”

To Noodle she just looked like a girl on the verge of tears for no discernable reason. Maybe she was having a bad day? Or perhaps it was worse than just a day, maybe it was her homelife or some other deeper problem. She seemed so helpless that the only thing Noodle could think to do was reach out and hug her. The other girl seemed to completely melt in her arms and broke down sobbing. ...Oops? Noodle patted her back and let go, steering her out of the walkway and onto a bench. Once seated, Noodle posed another question. “What’s wrong?”

Mariko took a breath and tried to steady herself. She couldn’t tell her the truth- that she was crying because she’s felt nothing but sadness despite leaving the facility, and seeing Noodle’s face brought those feelings all to the surface. So what does she say? She wiped her eyes and finally said something. “It’s too much to explain. I’m sorry.” 

Noodle’s expression looked even more concerned, but she just nodded. “I get that.” She wanted to give the girl her phone number in case she ever felt like talking, but it was kind of hard to reach her at the moment seeing as she was staying at a capsule hotel. They sat in silence as Noodle tried to solve that conundrum.   
Before Noodle could say anything, Mariko spoke up with much less sadness in her voice. “Thank you for sitting with me. I think that helped. I never gave you my name, I’m Mariko.”

Noodle gave her a toothy grin. “That’s a pretty name! But you’re pretty, so it fits.”

The sudden compliment surprised Mariko, she wasn’t very used to those. Unsure how to react she managed to stutter out a weak thank you before dropping her gaze to her feet with a dumb smile plastered on her face.

Noodle laughed at her reaction. “Do you have a phone number, Mariko? In case you do feel like talking. About problems or anything else.” 

A warm spark of hope lit up inside Mariko. She wasn’t even sure if Noodle remembered anything about the facility or what had happened to her after all the other kids were shot, but if there was one person in the world who could understand the memories that were eating Mariko up inside, it was her. Of course, she didn’t exactly have the confidence to voice those memories just yet, but it was nice to have her there just in case. She ripped a piece of her shopping list and wrote her phone number on it before handing it over to Noodle. 

They parted ways that afternoon, but Noodle called her the next night to check in on her. And the night after that. And the night after that. It became a routine for them, although at first Mariko didn’t have much to say. Eventually their conversations became more casual and it was easier to talk to her.

Noodle confided that she was in Osaka to try to find out about her past due to memory loss, so most of her days were busy with that. Mariko had suspected as much, It was no wonder Noodle hadn’t recognized her the way she had. Although this dashed her plans of confiding in Noodle, she still enjoyed her company with that same calming feeling she had given her all those years ago. She felt some guilt in not telling Noodle about her past since she knew, but her fear of being overheard and found overtook that.

Sometimes Noodle would take a break from searching for her past and the two would meet up, often for lunch, or if Shinobu wasn’t home, Mariko would invite her over for dinner. She made sure to keep Shinobu and Noodle far away from each other, because she was sure she’d overreact and ban her from seeing Noodle ever again or worse. A few times Noodle would bring her guitar while they met up, and Mariko was able to hear her play again. She had improved since she had last heard her, and the music made her heart soar.

It lasted like that for a year and a half. Noodle had brought something bright into Mariko’s life, and when things got tough like they always did, she could hold on because she had something to look forward to. 

Likewise Mariko became a happy constant in Noodle’s hectic world. She had always been independent, but she missed having friends like Gorillaz who she could rely on when she had to. Her first month back in Japan had been fraught by intense loneliness, but Mariko was always nearby, and she was so easy to talk to. For the first time ever she felt like a normal kid.

The idyllic friendship was almost torn apart by a fateful encounter in a sushi shop. 

Mariko received a phone call from Noodle, but she didn’t have her usual happy tone. Instead she spoke with an angry urgency that frightened Mariko. She was told to meet her, but rather than their usual spot Noodle had chosen a quiet park.

When she arrived, Noodle looked angry. “I remember everything. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Mariko felt her heart drop, this was exactly what she had feared happening. It was a selfish mistake not telling her. “I-I’m sorry! I should have told you I know, I just-” She felt hot tears beginning to run down her cheeks and she looked away. “I was scared they would find me..”

Noodle’s angry expression turned to one of confusion. “Find you? What do you mean? Why would they be looking for you?”

Mariko returned her eyes to Noodle and spoke in a hushed tone. “I was supposed to die. They would kill me.”

Noodle went pale. “You… you weren’t saved? I thought you were saved like I was… Oh god… I didn’t think… How did you get out?”

With shaking hands, Mariko pulled down the shoulder of her dress, revealing a large ugly scar on her left shoulder. “They were sloppy... I was lucky.” 

Without saying another word, Noodle pulled her into a hug, and like she had when they first met, Mariko collapsed into tears. Noodle joined her in sobbing. They stayed like that for a few minutes, just holding each other and crying because words were too hard to get out. 

After what felt like an eternity, Noodle pulled away. “I’m sorry.”

Mariko managed a smile. “It’s okay. I’ll never keep a secret from you again, I don’t want this to happen ever again.”

Noodle nodded. “That’s a good idea. No more secrets.” She laughed for a moment. “Okay, this might sound dumb, but I never told you that I’m in a band. It’s a pretty famous band, too.”

Mariko raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Really? Why didn’t you mention that, that’s amazing!” 

“I guess.. I didn’t want you to think of me differently. I wanted to just be a kid.” Noodle shrugged. It felt dumb after the bomb of a revelation that had passed moments earlier.

Mariko reached out to take her hand. “I promise that I won’t think of you any differently now that I know you’re in a band. But you will have to show me your music.”

Noodle laughed. “I promise I will, but it will be when I get home. Um, to my real home that is. There’s something else I brought you here to say, I’m going to England and back to my real home.”

That statement felt like a punch to the heart, but Mariko didn’t dare shed anymore tears. “Oh.. Please keep calling me. And email me, I can give you my email!”

Noodle nodded. “Yes, I’ll do that, I promise! Geez, I’ve made a lot of promises today, but I’ll keep them all!”

Thankfully, she did. When Noodle was back at Kong Studios, she made sure to email Mariko all of their songs from their first album, and when the timezones allowed it, she called her too. Mariko seemed to really enjoy their songs, so she kept her updated on the album that she was writing. 

It stayed like that for years, they would call and email and update each other on their lives. Mariko told Noodle when she got to go to public school, and Noodle told Mariko when she got the band back together. If there was anything interesting that ever happened, they were sure to remember it to tell each other. Even when things got bad, they were there for each other. 

Mariko’s life was definitely the more conventional one, so hearing all the chaos and clamor on Noodle’s end was interesting. Sometimes Noodle would put the phone on speaker and introduce one of her bandmates or one of the collaborators for the album, all of them seemed like some crazy characters. The most common guest on their calls was a man called 2D who Noodle mentioned was a sort of big brother to her. He had a pretty thick accent that was hard for Mariko to understand sometimes, but she thought he was funny, and he sang really nicely. The drummer for the band, Russel, had also come onto a few phone calls, but he didn’t hang around to chat much. She did think he was pretty nice, though. The member of the band Noodle couldn’t seem to introduce was Murdoc. Sometimes Mariko could hear him shout about something or another in the background which usually led to both the girls erupting into laughter. As Noodle described him, he was an asshole, but sometimes he was cool.

Although she was far away, Mariko almost felt like she had a second family. And Noodle- she loved her more and more by the day. In fact she had begun to love her so strongly that she started to feel it was something other than friendship… but she wasn’t sure if girls could feel that way about other girls. Still, the thought of being with her romantically clawed at her mind, and she remembered their solemn promise to never keep secrets from each other.

She had to tell her.

But soon a more urgent problem took up priority. Noodle emailed her asking if there was a way for Mariko to make a sort of chat program that couldn’t be traced, and Mariko did so easily. Once it was up and working, Noodle messaged her as quickly as she could. She said she thought the Japanese government was tracking her after finding out Mr. Kyuzo left her alive, and that Gorillaz had been under attack since their recent tour. She was going to leave the band and take refuge somewhere she couldn’t be found until they were off her trail. They would not be able to contact each other until it was over, but Noodle had one more music video to shoot before then, so she swore she’d call afterwards and they’d say their proper goodbyes.

But Mariko never did get that phone call, because the music video went horribly wrong.

She didn’t even know until the music video was released, but it was almost too hard to watch. Noodle… plummeting to her death. Was she really dead? Everyone seemed to think so… but she couldn’t be. Mariko couldn’t survive without her.. She didn’t want to be alive without her. 

When things looked bleakest, the one remaining hope she had that Noodle had simply been missing was confirmed by Murdoc Niccals. He claimed she had parachuted from the floating island and was now in the Maldives, but as much as Mariko wanted to believe that, some very concerning radio broadcasts from Noodle turned up. Murdoc was hiding something...

With all these loose ends that went nowhere, Mariko was sure of one thing: Murdoc knew where Noodle really was, and Mariko was going to find her.


End file.
